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Corporate office

Does anyone know an email address for Norton/Symantec corporate offices. I have been fooling around with tech support/customer services for 2 months and no one can seem to fix my problem or give me a valid answer. I paid for online back up when when I went to retrieve it (in mid-June) I couldn't. FINALLY this week I received 9 disks w/all my info, but no explanation, no method to fix the Norton 360 on my computer, etc, etc, etc. I'm tired of going thru tech support.

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Re: Corporate office

Does anyone know an email address for Norton/Symantec corporate offices. I have been fooling around with tech support/customer services for 2 months and no one can seem to fix my problem or give me a valid answer. I paid for online back up when when I went to retrieve it (in mid-June) I couldn't. FINALLY this week I received 9 disks w/all my info, but no explanation, no method to fix the Norton 360 on my computer, etc, etc, etc. I'm tired of going thru tech support.

For email any of the moderators should get you as close to corporate as anything else available.

Symantec World Headquarters

350 Ellis StreetMountain View, CA 94043Phone: +1 650-527-8000

That's the corporate office address if it helps.

Mollyjazz,

Since everybody to date has failed to solve the problem would you care to give us a shot. We're neither paid employees nor otherwise connected. Except that many of us have been using Norton products for years and found ways to break the software so that the programmers are assured of job security. If you would tell us more about both your hardware and software then about your exact problem we might be able to help.

Re: Corporate office

I had to do a system recovery on my computer in mid=June b/c it crashed. When I tried to restore the backed up online data, my computer kept freezing and it just would not restore it. I fooled around w/Norton techs who tried everything. They told my I was trying to restore too much info at once...etc. Finally, after even they couldn't get it restored, they sent me 9 disks with all my info. Explorer kept shutting down/freezing every time I tried to restore info from a disk The back up would run for about 5 minutes then I'd get this error message:

Re: Corporate office

I had to do a system recovery on my computer in mid=June b/c it crashed. When I tried to restore the backed up online data, my computer kept freezing and it just would not restore it. I fooled around w/Norton techs who tried everything. They told my I was trying to restore too much info at once...etc. Finally, after even they couldn't get it restored, they sent me 9 disks with all my info. Explorer kept shutting down/freezing every time I tried to restore info from a disk The back up would run for about 5 minutes then I'd get this error message:

Norton casemanagers tried to restore it for me, couldn't do anything, said they had to refer it back to their development department. This issues has been going on since mid-June.

Hi,

Sorry to read that this is dragging on so long.

The reset/restore to the factory settings after the crash would have corrupted your 360. It will need to be removed and reinstalled before it will work properly. If this hasn't been done I'd suggest that you use the new remove and reinstall tool found here:

Re: Corporate office

I think, rather than the restore and reinstall tool, because it has been well bunged up, there should be a saving of logins to the desktop, a complete removal through add/remove, and then using the stand alone removal tool followed by a reboot.

I would suggest a clean installation rather than what amounts to a repair installation. Saving corrupted settings may not improve the situation. If the techs did a reinstall, I expect that the R&R tool would have been used.

Re: Corporate office

I think the techs DID remove/restore 360, they put shortcuts on my desktop, they've done things thru remote and still can't get it back. I appreciate the replies on here, but why can't the people at Norton figure this out. Is there a problem with my computer?

Re: Corporate office

System restore does odd things in a computer. It is not a drive image, in that when you say "put it back the way it was," not all files are changed. Some files remain and some are gone. Because of this, a system restore tends to break Norton and cause several things to not work correctly. We also have no way of knowing what files were changed, and what files were not changed. Windows doesn't share that with us.

Re: Corporate office

I think it was windows that crashed. I couldn't access the internet, couldn't really do anything, couldn't restore to a previous point, couldn't do anything. Did a system recovery, had problems getting everything back and just when I did, everything crashed again. Did another system recovery but this time I couldn't get my backedup data back. The hard drive is new, just replaced.

I didn't used to have another security on there but now I think I have Macafee---not sure how it got there. (this is my home computer and I'm at work right now so I can't really check things out)

All the other parts of Norton are working, I just can't do a back-up.

I'm not totally ignorant about computers---I restored my own hard drive, but this is WAY beyond my skills.

Re: Corporate office

I think it was windows that crashed. I couldn't access the internet, couldn't really do anything, couldn't restore to a previous point, couldn't do anything. Did a system recovery, had problems getting everything back and just when I did, everything crashed again. Did another system recovery but this time I couldn't get my backedup data back. The hard drive is new, just replaced.

I didn't used to have another security on there but now I think I have Macafee---not sure how it got there. (this is my home computer and I'm at work right now so I can't really check things out)

All the other parts of Norton are working, I just can't do a back-up.

I'm not totally ignorant about computers---I restored my own hard drive, but this is WAY beyond my skills.

THANK YOU for your assistance.

Molly,

For when you get home.

Carefully check to see if any other security software was installed as part of the restore.

It there is another program present do a control panel uninstall. Go the the vendor site and download their removal tools. Run their tools at least twice to be sure. Reboot.

The restore may also have reactivated the windows security software - windows defender, Microsoft security essentials. These will also have to be uninstalled/disabled. Reboot.

With everything that has happened and continues I recommend Delphinium's suggestion of cleaning out all of the bits and pieces of Norton as well before trying to get anything running. This would be the a control panel uninstall, running the Norton Removal Tool, rebooting and running it once more, just to be sure. Rebooting and then doing a clean install. Another reboot, run live update and reboot each time until the program tells you that all of the updates have been downloaded and installed.

Re: Corporate office

When you get back and sort out what happened as suggested by dick you will find that if you go back to Delphinium's message at http://community.norton.com/t5/Norton-360/Corporate-office/m-p/516140#M53084 here in this thread she gives you a link to full instructions on getting and using the Norton Removal Tool that she and dick recommend and those instructions also tell you how to get the replacement copy of the Norton program that you had .... after it installs just make sure you fully update it via Live Update.

TheI'd run a Quick Scan to see if it's happy and if you have some time to spare run a full system scan which goes deeper.

Re: Corporate office

I uninstalled Norton, reinstalled it, ran live update and it said that there were updates that I needed, started to run them...it ran for about 45 minutes and got hung up, not responding. There was nothing I could do with it, so I rebooted. The Windows logo came up, then the COMPAQ logo, then it asked which system I wanted to start: Windows XP or Windows Recovery COnsole. I did a system recovery ran a basic test: Smart Short Self Test - FAILED. Error code: HD521-2w.

WHenevern I tried to start all I get is "Windows coiuld not start b/c file missing or corrupt:

<windows root>\system32\hal.dll.

Please reinstall a copy of above file.

This is back where all this started in June...except I didn't get the corrupt file message.

Re: Corporate office

Only if you have been longing for an excuse reason to buy a new flashy one .... <g>

A hal error is hardware/windows related and specific to XP. SMART is a test system built into modern hard drives to keep an eye open for problems and here by coincidence (there are no concidences .....) is a link to an HP Forum thread about that message:

Reply 2: Re: smart short self test HD521-2W FAILED!! vher replied 8 months, 4 weeks ago HD521-2W is a code generated by HP computers for a failed SMART short test . It is an indication that the drive may be on the way out. hardwares will eventually fail and its unavoidable. whatever you've done before this happen is just a coincidence. the error code you get is a categorized error that tells the system (your pc) that the hardisk is failing. just backup your files and replace the ... So make sure you have backed up all your personal data files and be ready to replace the hard drive BEFORE it crashes completely -- it's an easy thing to do yourself particularly on a laptop (I've done 3 Compaq's just buying the correct drive at Best Buy for about $40, pulling otu the old one and slotting the new one into place). When you got your HP Computer did you make Recovery Disks?Do you have them?Have you installed much software that did not come preinstalled on the comuter? If so do you have the disks to install it again?Do you have backups of your personal files? Or do you ant to take advantage of how cheap computers are these days and get a new one -- but note that if you do it will almost certainly come with WIndows 7 64 bit and you may have some hurdles to jump to use any old hardware you have like very old printers etc but again I and Microsoft can help you find out first! If you tell me the exact model of HP you have -- a name like Pavilion and a bunch of letters and number to identify the exact model I can do some looking up for you.

Re: Corporate office

I would LOVE a new laptop, however, my budget doesn't allow it right now.

I replaced the hard drive once and it failed, so the company sent me another one which I replaced probably in April/May.

I have recovery disks (learned after the big crash of 09!)

Do not have much software installed.

I have some old back up files.

I have 9 disks that Norton sent me b/c I couldn't retrieve my data from their online back-up

I have a Compaq presario...don't have the model number since I'm at work.

That sounds like the model -- Compaq Presario CQ56-115DX -- I bought a couple of for a family member and he has hard drive problems -- on one of them when he was in SC they said, the second time the drive failed after a replacement, to send ite in for service and since there was an official HP service center a couple of hours away he took it in.

Had to leave it because they said they had to replace the motherboard "had a lot of problems with it and we are out of stock".

Now the other one he has has gone down again after 2 drive replacements and they've had him send it in (he's in MT at the moment) and it's due back today ....

So I would recommend you get onto HP right away and lean gently on them ... you can be sympathetic saying you know they are having a lot of problems with hard drives at the moment (apart from their other problems with having announced they want to give up the PC business!).

Even if it is out of warranty I'd be surprised if you can't get a fix, at least for now ......

Some of these need the Windows XP installation disk (the Microsoft one and not the CQ Recovery One) so that''s out although if you could borrow one for the same XP version that you have Microsoft have no objection to you using it but the big problem can be that if you have updated to XP SP3 then you need an XP SP3 disk and those are rare and mostly "home made" by slipstreaming the SP3 into the XP and burning a new CD .... Not practical.

Do you have access to another computer because if you do you can always pull the disk out of the laptop and use an adapter to plug it into the USB socket on another computer and then if you can see the files (doesn't require the drive to boot up) you can copy your data files to safety.

Then you can try anything you like on the drive including getting HP to send you one along with a set of recovery media which is what they have been doing in the family case I mentioned.

Here's a link to the sort of adapter that I use and it has saved my bacon many times already ...

Re: Corporate office

All my data was backed up online w/Norton and I have 9 disks with all the backup.

If I lose anything, not a big deal...I have pics and music backed up elsewhere

When I was searching on the HAL error I actually came across a post where someone with a Seagate drive actually said that it did pass the Seagate drive fitness test so .......

I think you ought to make absolutely sure that you can recover those files you have backed up OnLine and to disk by trying to get them (Again -- do you have access to another computer?) or at least a sample.

And I'd immediately tackle HP/Comapq for a replacement drive BECAUSE it is not IF my hard drive fails .... it is WHEN my hard drive fails ... Every hard drive will fail .....

And if you can afford the $40 or so give me the details of the CQ model and I'll idientify the drive -- care to say which State you live in, if it's in the USA?

Re: Corporate office

Yes, Smart monitors many other things besides bad sectors or other errors.

A hard drive can sometimes still pass diagnostic tests and give the SMART warnings.

I would trust the SMART warnings over any other tests. The SMART warnings are part of the drive and made by the manufactures of the drive, it is in there best interest to make them as accurate as possible and not to give false errors.

They base drive replacements on these errors, they would loose a fortune if they gave false warnings or even warnings earlier than necessary.

However, thats just my opinion from my experiance over the years, you can turn off the warnings in your system BIOS if you don't believe them.

If you use a retail XP installation CD you can boot to the recovery console and do a "Fixboot" followed by a "Fixmbr".

If that doesn't work you have 2 options:

1) obtain or make an XP installation disk with the same service pack level as the installed system and do a repair installation.

2) Restore the system to factory state using the recovery disks and then restore your data and re-install your programs.

I think the second option would be better, reading your posts leads me to believe you have other windows problems.

The problems you describe with windows locking up or freezing indicate a problem with Windows and not the Norton backup. In post #6 the error given is a "read error" indicating a corrupted file or hard drive problem, both of those reasons have to do with windows.

In my opinion, the problems you been having with Online backup are indications of a bigger problem and have nothing to do with Norton online backup or 360.

Re: Corporate office

The only other computer I have is at work, and I'm having the IT guy help me.

I have bought and replaced two hard drives since January so I don't really want to buy and replace another one if that too is just going to fail.

Thanks for the info...it's too much for me to think about right now.

I'm glad you've got some professional hands on help but I hope he too will tell you that to continue running a hard drive wher SMART reports a fault is not a wise thing. If you do not replace the drive it will crash just when most inconvenient to you. If you do replace the drive you will get a breathing spell.

If you go to HP it should cost you nothing, although if they do want to do a motherboard replacement that could mean it will be out of your hands for a few days, unless you can arrange a take-in to one of their official support centers.

But if you can afford the relatively small sum for buying a drive retail you can end up with a new drive, possibly better than the old one in quality and with a 3 year warranty -- which is what I did. I got a Westren Digital Scorpio Blue 250GB 2.5in SATA drive with a 3 year warranty for $40

Re: Corporate office

<< Does the computer make the hard drive fail...or have I just had 2 faulty hard drives. >>

I'm not sufficiently uptodate technically to be dogmatic on this. BUT -- there is the situation that happened here to the family member where after several drives had gone down, HP said send the laptop in since we have to change the motherboard. Although whether that was for the reason given or not one never knows .... I think the latest drive crash was on the CQ that had had one drive replaced already but it was not the one with the motherboard replaced after 2 crashed drives.

Was the PC out of warranty when you bought the replacement drive? Was that why you did it that way?

I don't believe very strongly that the computer could damage the hard drive (although the user could! Hard drives don't like bumps while the PC is on).

See if anyone here has any advice on probabilities .....

PS -- CAn you give me the model number of your Compaq so I can check it out and see if it is the same as the ones here.

Re: Corporate office

The Compaqs I was referring to were all laptops (the latest came back today and they only replaced the hard drive and not the motherboard as well which they had told him was needed so he's getting back onto them ....)

which I see came with XP -- you still have XP on it but I imagine you hve updated Windows to SP 3 -- did you get instructions on this since there are a lot of updates they say needed to be installed before going to SP 1 to avoid problems.

Re: Corporate office

THe IT guy had the computer running perfectly...rebooted several times, came right back up, was fast, etc, etc.

Tried to install the first disk that I got from Norton, it went about 1/2 way thru and froze up.

Forget the Norton disks ...

Since it got stuck use the Norton Removal Tool to clean up any files that got installed. Don't follow the instructions for getting the copy of N 360 to install but download the following file and run it to install from.

Re: Corporate office

Computer is up and running...all the data from the Norton disks was reloaded. The IT guy took everything off my computer, reinstalled most of the programs. I reinstalled Norton, ran Live Update several times and rebooted each time. The hard drive is working great, computer is faster. The only problem is that some of my music is not working in Itunes. I tried to restore the files from the online back up and it didn't work. I had a back-up disk that I'd made about a year ago and used that.

So...for now. It's working quite well. ...and yes, I know....it's not IF the hard drive will fail, it's WHEN.

My question now is my "favorites" are in a directory...how do I get them back in favorites?

THANKS to everyone for the help and advice and putting up with my whining!

Re: Corporate office

Sorry -- I was confusing your situation with another current one where the user was I think in a later version of WIndows and had an image.

A drive image is a file that contains an image, in compressed form so it doesn't use so much space, of eveything on the whole hard drive and which can if your drive crashed would enable you to put in a new drive and then restore the image back to the empty drive so that you were exactly where you were when you made that image -- that may not be exactly where you were when the drive crashed but at the very least it saves a lot of time in geting the operating system back up and running -- say 6 - 8 minutes instead of the hour or so to reinstall WIndows.

Windows 7 comes with a pretty good imaging system built in but XP didn't.

I was going to say to get your IT guy to make if for you and keep it safe but it just occured to me that if you have a Seagate, Maxtor or Western Digital hard drive they have a copy you can download free of a version of True Image that does the job even on XP. And you make a bootable recovery disk from the program from which you can run the Restore application to get the files back.

Can you check what drive you have in your laptop and I'll get the link for you ....

Back ups you know and are simpler and quicker to make but one image from early on when you know the system is clean and running OK is a great thing to have.

Re: Corporate office

Thanks for all your help. My computer is running fine. There were issues with Incredimail. The hard drive is good, Norton seems to be doing what it should. So for now....all is well. Thanks again for your help and suggestions!!!